Imagine A World Without Electricity
By Zoe Lauters (1st Place Winner)

     Imagine a world without electricity. Getting ready for work in the morning unable to brew a cup of coffee, or turn on a modern heating unit in the frigid winter. But do you ever stop to think of how these daily commodities are made so readily available? Without the work of people such as lineworkers, engineers, and technicians, we would be forced to reside in a world much more trivial than we live in today. Energy workers are the reason that we are able to maintain our societies strive for technological advances.

     When our everyday lives are broken down, the number of times we come in contact with something that requires electricity is countless. Electricity is not only used when you turn on the lights, but also to run vital machines in hospitals as well as providing ways to make computers work so that records can be more easily organized. Electricity is the means for such industrial advances, and is the reason for life as we know it. Even with the discovery of electricity, without energy workers energy would not be able to function. It is imperative to realize that when we turn things on throughout the day, there is someone working behind the scenes; providing us with those luxuries. However, do you ever think about who provides the power for the ceiling fans we run at night, or the microwave we use to heat up our midnight snack? Not only do energy workers work all the day time hours of the week, but they are also required to maintain the luxuries we are so accustomed to during night time hours. Not to mention the time they take from their personal schedules on holidays, family events, and weekends.
      
     Everyday energy workers do so much, allowing the world to function as it does, and with the continuous advancement in technological fields, the need for these electric virtuosos advances everyday into bigger and better things. One big project that is being taken on by energy workers is the search for reliable renewable energy sources. This will provide longer availability of energy to the world. With these new strives, energy workers not only have to maintain the work that they already do to endow us with electricity, but also to help figure out the best ways to take electricity as we know it. This just adds to the amount of work that energy workers do to continue to improve our lives.      

     Now, take a look around at your surroundings. Consider all the things in your vicinity that require some kind of outside help just to make it possible to run. Is the light on? Is the room heated or cooled to your liking? Are you reading this online? All of these are expected commodities, things we grow up with. But not a single one is possible without energy. And you can’t pick energy off trees; it has to be converted, shaped to whatever converter necessary, and that isn’t possible without energy workers. At points, this electricity can be run by machines, but who regulates these machines? Who fixes them? Energy workers are the hidden heroes of the world, the people who make life as we know it possible. Unseen to the world in their factories, they repair turbines, they keep energy flowing, they fix problems that arise, all in a day’s work.      

     Furthermore, employment opportunities such as power plant helpers, technicians, Power line workers, they aren’t just jobs. They’re careers; trades that must be learnt to be accomplished. No average Joe could do these jobs; time and effort must be put in to get the results needed to power our society. For example, to be a turbine maintenance worker, it takes three semesters to learn the skills needed. Three semesters of turbine maintenance only, no other classes included. Being in the energy field takes dedication, commitment, and the drive to take the initiative and become one of the country’s most needed suppliers.      

     To conclude, energy workers aren’t just workers. They’re providers, endowing the world with the energy to supply. They’re the basis of daily life: without them, life as we know it would cease to exist. Power wouldn’t get transferred, equipment would break down and wouldn’t be repaired. While my essay is a long way off from the recognition they deserve, I end this with a humble thank you to every energy worker, every man and woman working on the power lines, in the factories, out in the field on turbines. Because of you; I am able to turn off and on the light in my room, able to charge my phone, able to do trivial things such as checking my Facebook. Thank you.